'Cinnamon' black bear who stopped by for dinner finally trapped in Salem city limits

A black bear that sniffed the appealing aroma of hot dogs and s'mores in a Salem family's backyard has finally been trapped and relocated safely.

Salem Police Chief Keith Steelman said the bear showed up Monday evening near the backyard of a Salem family that was having a cookout.

A cinnamon-colored black bear roams the backyard of a Salem resident before it was safely caught in a trap during an encounter in May. Game agents relocated the bear.(Photo: Josh Wisdom/MDC)

The bear was not aggressive and appeared to be just wanting a treat.

"It's the first one inside the city that we know of," Steelman said Wednesday morning. "This started late Monday evening when the family was in their yard grilling hot dogs and s'mores. They heard a noise and thought it was a dog or something. Then one of them said, 'There's a bear'!"

In May this cinnamon-colored black bear showed near the home of a Salem family having an evening cookout.(Photo: Josh Wisdom/MDC)

Startled by the human voices, the bear shimmied up a tree. The police department contacted the Missouri Department of Conservation, which sent two agents and a bear trap baited with food.

Steelman said the bear climbed down the tree several times, while police kept curious onlookers at a distance.

"At one point he was in the tree and kind of crossed his paws and laid his head in the crook of the tree," Steelman said. "I said, 'Guys, I think he just went to sleep.'"

The bear was safely trapped by Conservation agents and relocated out of town.(Photo: Bobby Simpson/Salem Police Department)

The bear hung out in the tree or near it until 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, when the food in the trap proved too tempting.

"He went into the trap to get his breakfast this morning," Steelman said. "That's when they caught him."